2015•04•17

Pemón Culture: The Fire That Should Not Be Shut Down/Cultura Pemón: El fuego que no se debe apagar

(Spanish Only) 

The documentary, “Pémon Culture: The fire should not be shut down” explores the importance of fire to the Pémon people of Canaima National Park, Venezuela. The film explores the importance of Pémon traditional knowledge in the use of fire, and threats resulting from interruption to the Pémon’s management of Canaima’s ecosystem. The film explores new sustainable alternatives for the conservation of protected areas, including integrating Pémon traditional knowledge with scientific knowledge and modern fire management practice. Such an approach would strengthen technical cooperation between indigenous communities, government agencies and academia. It would help to address the global problem of climate change while promoting respect for the cultural values and management practices of the Pemon people. The film is a product of FONACIT Strategic Project (Ministry of Popular Power for Science, Technology and Innovation, Venezuela): “Ecological base of Pémon ancestral knowledge of fire: local solutions to global problems of climate change”, led by Prof. Bibiana Bilbao of the University Simon Bolivar, and with the participation of the Pémon people.